Antonio Frierson had dreamed of going to prom. After he died, his sister found a way to make sure his wish was fulfilled.
As Fox 59 reports, the young man from Indianapolis was only 16 when he was shot and killed by a friend who was playing with a gun. The friend responsible served time in jail for the incident, but two years later, Antonio’s family is still struggling with the loss.
His sister, Antonett, told Fox 59 that she doesn’t believe her brother’s death was an accident:
“This wasn’t an accident. You don’t accidentally shoot someone in the forehead.”
With Antonio’s killer now out of jail and wanted for violating his community corrections sentence, Antonett is finding it especially hard to contemplate the loss of her brother:
“You see the person that killed him just being able to go to social media and sayThis is what I ate today and say what is happening in life.’ I can’t see that. I can’t talk to him.”
This year, while preparing for her senior prom, Antonett decided to find a way to honor her brother and fulfill his dream of going to the dance.
With the help of designer Mariah Jackson, Antonett designed a dress covered in photos of Antonio.
These weren’t images chosen just because they looked nice. Every picture on Antonett’s gown is a cherished memory.
“I just didn’t pick just any picture of his face or because it’s a clear picture of his face,” Antonett explained to Fox 59. “Every picture on that dress has a story.”
The project hit home for the designer, who had also recently lost a friend to gun violence. She described working on the project as “intense.”
But the end product speaks for itself. Antonio’s mother gushed that the dress is “even more beautiful than we thought it would be.”
More than 2 years ago 16-year-old Antonio Frierson was shot & killed. One of his biggest dreams was to go to prom.
Tonight I’ll tell you how Antonio’s sister will be taking of piece of him with her to the senior prom. pic.twitter.com/J43NH5nKaY
— Aaron Cantrell (@AaronTheNewsGuy) May 3, 2019
Antonett agreed. She said that in designing the dress, she “took my memories and imagination and created something I can vision.”
And when she tried it on, she definitely felt like she was bringing her brother to the prom with her. As she told Fox 59:
“I feel amazing. I feel like I’m not going for just one. I should have bought two tickets.”